I recently received a letter with the following announcement:
The postal administration of the ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF MAURITANIA asks me to inform you of the following:
We have just learnt of the appearance of a whole series of fraudulent postage stamps inscribed “REPUBLIQUE ISLAMIQUE DE MAURITANIE” on various websites and in philatelic promotional publications. We have recorded no fewer than 95 illegal stamps. We would take this opportunity to state that our postal administration has not issued any postage stamps since the end of 2000. It is, in particular, a violation of the national legislation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, and in particular its law on the Post and its provisions on counterfeit postage stamps. This situation is further aggravated by the fact that the logos of various organizations are reproduced on most of the illegal postage stamps. These organizations may be led to believe that we have used their logos without permission and these organizations could take legal action against us for breach of copyright.
One miniature sheet contains nine stamps, each stamp featuring a different portrait of Walt Disney. The miniature sheet is inscribed “WALT DISNEY” at the top. The value shown on each stamp is 60 UM, and each stamp is inscribed with the year 2003.
The fact that these stamps are fraudulent will probably not stop Disneyphiles from purchasing them and in fact, will probably encourage collectors to grab them up before they are yanked off the market because their limited release will make them even more collectible. It got me to thinking about some of the many legitimate honors Walt Disney received over the years.
Walt Disney, along with members of his staff, received more than 950 honors and citations from every nation in the world, including 48 Academy Awards and seven Emmys in his lifetime
In 1938, with the success of SNOW WHITE, Walt Disney received a slew of awards including a Marble Electric Clock from the 49th Annual Tournament of Roses as a special prize for the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs float in the New Year’s Day parade, a bronze and wooden plaque from RADIO GUIDE “in appreciation of pleasure brought to radio listeners by Disney’s characters”, a special bronze and wooden plaque from the National Broadcasting Company for Mickey’s Tenth Birthday Broadcast (September 27, 1938), a gold and wooden plaque as a tribute from the artists in Havana, Cuba, several awards recognizing SNOW WHITE and more.
In addition, Walt got an Honorary Degree of Master of Science from the University of Southern California, an Honorary Master of Arts Degree from Yale University and an Honorary Degree of Master of Arts from Harvard University. Not bad for a kid who never graduated high school.
In the attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios in Florida ONE MAN’S DREAM, in the film at the end (which I wish they would make available to guests), there is a clip of Walt in cap and gown playfully blowing at his tassel hanging down from the mortar board. I have been told that clip was from the honorary degree he received from Harvard University.
The honorary degree has been a Harvard University tradition since 1692 when the honor was bestowed upon the fiery Puritan preacher Increase Mather, A.B. 1656. Today, Harvard bestows honorary degrees on those individuals outside the University who represent outstanding achievement in their personal lives or fields of endeavor.
The identities of the honorands are kept secret until they are announced with much fanfare on Commencement day. A standing committee investigates the qualifications of the nominees and then submits a list to the full board for approval. A unanimous vote is typically required. The final list is passed to the Overseers for confirmation. On average, 10 honorands are selected each year and they are required to be present at Commencement to receive their degrees.
For example, Harvard awarded honorary degrees in 1935 to Albert Einstein and 1937 to Robert Frost and 1940 to Carl Sandburg. No honorary degree seems to have been awarded in 1939.
Honorary degrees are conferred honoris causa, “for the sake of honor.” Honorary degrees are awarded as one of three types: Doctor of Laws, honoris causa; Doctor of Letters, honoris causa; or Doctor of Science, honoris causa. The PhD is granted only as an earned degree.
Honorary degrees are generally awarded for one of three reasons: To recognize extraordinary intellectual or artistic achievement, to honor service to the University and to the wider society; and to recognize men and women who might serve as examples to the institution’s student body. An honorary degree, it is said, honors both the grantee and the spirit of the institution.
In 1938, Harvard awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree to Walter Elias Disney.
“We’re selling corn,” Disney wrote to President James B. Conant in response to the letter offering him the degree, “and I like corn. I try to entertain, not educate: an important part of education is stimulating an interest in things.”
Disney’s honorary degree citation read: “A magician who has created a modern dwelling for the Muses.”
But even though he stole the show at Commencement, Disney was not without detractors. A short while later, the following telegram arrived from an alumni of the class of 1910:
Dean of Harvard University
Don’t phone CA=I object to the cheapness you’re showing in giving degrees to men like Disney who make a farce out of it. When mothers like mine have self sacrificed themselves to make Harvard men. Why go to college=
In the 1930s, Walt Disney and his animation were the serious focus of many critics and scholars who debated whether Disney animation was truly an “art” and whether in fact, Walt was the heir to Leonardo Da Vinci.
In fact Harvard art historian Robert D. Field spent almost a year at the Disney Studios starting during the summer of 1939. He interviewed animators and technicians and eventually wrote the first book about Disney animation entitled THE ART OF WALT DISNEY (1942).
(In the book only Walt Disney is identified by name. All the other artists are discussed anonymously like “one animator who has worked here for twenty years says”, etc.)
Before the book was even published, Field was terminated from Harvard because “of too much enthusiasm for modern art, particularly Disney’s.”
In February 1943 Walt Disney visited Harvard to consult with Anthropology Department Chair Earnest A. Hooton about a forthcoming Technicolor film ridiculing Adolf Hitler’s racist theories. On the steps of the Faculty Club, Disney tells the Boston press that he plans to leave Hitler “out of the picture,” since “too much attention has already been given to that guy.”
I am sure there are some other connections between Walt and Harvard (besides the fact that the voice of Aladdin attends the school and that several Disney executives have come from that institution) so maybe readers of this website can offer some of their insights.